Angry fans
KERRY DIDN'T WIN on Sunday. Cork lost. How did we do it? The misses were
absolutely shocking. Is it any wonder we abandon the football team at the first
sign of hurling success?
Surely
that was the whole point? You don't miss. You score. The team who scores most
wins. Deservedly - like Kerry.
- WHENEVER CORK
STARTED to get close Kerry stepped up about two gears, kicked over three points
and suddenly it was game over. Kerry were a class above Cork which is strange
when you consider that Cork outplayed Kerry twice in the Munster Championship
this year. It just goes to show that Kerry produce it when it matters most and
Cork just don't seem to have the mentality on the big day.
We come back to the basics. Scores win games,
not wides. Apart from the opening ten minutes, Cork also began the second half
well but blazed at least six or seven scoring chances wide. On the other hand,
by the sixtieth minute, Kerry had mounted six attacks and scored five times!
TADHG
KENNELLY WAS a lucky man to stay on the field after his foul on Noel O'Leary from
the throw in. It was a calculated act in the hope that Marty Duffy, who had come
in for a lot of pre-match criticism, would have been reluctant to show a card
so early on. There would have been uproar if he had sent him off.
It was a big call for Marty Duffy to
make so early in the game. I thought it merited a card of some colour but I'm
glad I'm not the one who had to decide. Apart from that one decision, Marty Duffy
had an excellent game and he put paid to all the pre-match carping from former
'greats' who should know better.
THE BLOW HAS fallen.
With Kilkenny winning the hurling championship yet again and Kerry winning for
the fifth time in ten years, what future is there for hurling and football? The
GAA should beware. Soccer and Munster rugby are breathing down their necks!
I wish I had a Euro for every time somebody
writes an obituary for Gaelic games whenever a county wins the All Ireland in
quick succession. It happens just as often in other sports. For example, Manchester
United are going for their fourth successive Premiership title. Quite simply,
Kerry and Kilkenny are by far and away the best counties in their respective chosen
codes. The GAA has survived far worse 'crises' in the past.
JACK O'CONNOR HAS proved he is one of the great managers of all
time, in any county. But, he certainly made one risky decision that most definitely
wasn't a success. Replacing a star performer like Kennelly was a very risky decision
that he absolutely got away with.
Every one of Jack's substitutions worked well and I include Donnachadh Walsh
in that comment. Kennelly in his post-match interview made it clear that he had
given it everything - running non-stop for the first fifty minutes of the game
- and he had no problem with being 'subbed'.
'UP FOR THE Match' showed
the dearth of RTÉ's imagination in relation to pre-match programmes. There
was a time when you could expect good speakers from Kerry, for example, as in
Bryan McMahon, John B Keane or Brendan Kennelly. I am all for Irish culture and
tradition and all that but the level of gombeenism on show put the rest of the
country to shame.
Nothing
- not even NAMA or the Lisbon Treaty - divides the nation in quite the same way
as 'Up for the Match'. One thing we can all agree on, however. Gráinne
Seoighe is getting better and better as a TV presenter now that she's finished
with that dreadful afternoon programme she used to host.
I THINK IT was
very unfair of Mick O'Dwyer and Billy Morgan to criticise referee Marty Duffy
before he even threw in the ball in Sunday's All Ireland football final. It's
not the ref's job to 'let the game flow'. It's up to the players themselves to
play the game in the correct spirit and ensure that they make it flow. His duty
was to control the game in accordance with the rules something that really didn't
happen in the hurling final and, arguably, cost Tipperary the All-Ireland (and
I'm no Tipp Man!). Marty Duffy is up there with the best in the game in this regard
and I, for one, was happy to see him appointed and thought he did well on Sunday.
The two lads' comments were absolutely
out of order and they must be feeling right 'eejits' now. It was inexplicable
that GAA officialdom did not defend the match referee in public. The two boyos'
enthusiasm for Pat McEneaney may be understandable but we can't schedule referees
for All Irelands on the basis that there is only one man in the entire 32-counties
capable of doing the job properly.
RED CARD WITH THE BACKDOOR system now
in place we have a kind of open draw but as we have seen from other codes the
straight knock out concept has been outmoded by the Premiership, Champions League
and Heineken Cup. A seeded open draw would be an ideal solution in the games of
the Gaels. This seeded system could be based on National League placings, whereby
Division One teams would occupy the top eight seedings in football, and this system,
in turn, would give teams an incentive to take that competition more seriously.
For hurling, the top four would suffice for seedings.
I know you put a lot of thought into your proposal, Rebelier, which
I've shortened to make space for other comments. I strongly disagree with you.
The only place for seeds in the GAA should be for improving the surface in Croke
Park. Championships should be decided in an open draw, knockout competition.
CORK
FOOTBALLERS GAVE their fans tremendous value for money this summer. Sadly, they
fell at the last hurdle. Since 1973 Cork have appeared in nine All Ireland football
finals, winning three. It's about performance on the day. Too many Cork players
came up short and maybe management were perhaps too loyal to some players. The
middle diamond was the area where Cork struggled, yet the management made no effort
to rectify the situation. Kerry, to their credit, showed all the experience which
has made them the most successful county in Ireland. It is a good Cork team but
they need someone in the full forward line to win primary possession.
KERRY BEAT CORK again in Croke Park on Sunday mainly
because tactically they had their homework done to perfection. Unfortunately,
Cork were found somewhat wanting on the day and they left their shooting boots
in the dressing room. Certainly, they have made significant progress since 2007
and, up to Sunday, were arguably the best team in the championship this year.
So we must have hope and believe that this year will prove to be a stepping stone
to the ultimate grail in the next couple of years. For this Rebel, Cork is the
only show in town and there is no intention of abandoning the cause.
I'm a big fan of
this Cork team and their management. They haven't become a poor team overnight
and they will be back in the frame as serious contenders for All Ireland honours
again next year.
NOW THAT THE 125 Year celebrations are drawing to a close
I hope we'll have no more of this flag waving and thunderous drumming before finals
in Croke Park. Can we not just go back to having the Artane Band playing favourite
tunes from the competing counties?
Outfits like Macnas from Galway and Spraoi from Waterford have certainly left
their mark on the way public events are celebrated and not always for the better.
Often, we just get low budget copies of the original. The pre-match 'entertainment'
at All Ireland finals is a prime example of this unfortunate development.
- I WAS DELIGHTED to see the Kerry fans in their thousands defying
the powers that be and invading the pitch at the end of Sunday's final to acclaim
their heroes in the time honoured way. Long may it continue!
I dunno. I'm coming round to the view that maybe we should try a spectacular
'bells and whistles' Champions League-style presentation on a centre-field podium
with the fans marshalled back beyond the '45 lines'. We owe it to the winners
to do better than this heaving throng of fans milling around the pitch, gawping
into TV cameras and thumping players on the back, while ignoring 'speeches' being
bellowed out on a poor PA system from the Hogan Stand.
TICK IN THE BOOK
I THINK IT'S a bit much of the Munster rugby crowd to be telling young lads they
will be dropped from a development squad if they miss training in order to play
for their club in a Limerick minor football semi final. No youngster should be
put in a position like that. The rugby crowd are really aggressive in their attitude
and are forcing lads of fifteen, sixteen and seventeen to stop playing GAA with
friends they've played with for more than ten years.
It always causes problems when one sport forces the issue like this
instead of maintaining a policy of 'live and let live'. Many young lads are put
off by the intensity of rugby coaching and the danger of serious injury. GAA is
still getting its fair share of teenagers sticking with the games so let's keep
this in perspective.
WHAT A DISGRACEFUL way to treat John Kiely, the
man who dragged Waterford football from the gutter. I'm raging at this. Not one
member of County Board made any effort to contact him about his views on next
year. The man was only one game away from promotion for the last two years. The
County Board don't want a successful football team. John Owens didn't achieve
much in his year with the Tipperary footballers so he's not the solution.
John Kiely did about as much as he could
with the players available to him, given that some of Waterford's best footballers
give their primary allegiance to hurling. The new Bainisteoir, John Owens, has
an impressive track record having played football at minor (on the excellent Tipp
team of 1984 who reached an All Ireland final!), under 21 and senior for Tipperary
as well as on Railway Cup teams and winning county medals with Moyle Rovers.
I AM TOTALLY opposed to the new rule being proposed in Carlow whereby
all under ten and under twelve tournaments will be ended and replaced by non-competitive
games like 'Go Games' and blitzes. In sport, you have to learn to win and lose
early on. If you start taking away scores and telling them it doesn't matter the
games will suffer.
As far as I
know, Kilkenny have no competitive games in hurling until under fourteen and it
doesn't seem to have harmed their prospects much. They are turning out huge numbers
of highly skilled young hurlers. Could this have anything to do with the fact
that youngsters are encouraged to develop their skills rather than amassing huge
collections of underage 'medals'?
WEXFORD'S ARCH RIVALS have now won their
'four in a row', so where does that leave the men of Loch Garman? For most of
the last century we were the Cats' main opposition but now we've slid down below
Galway, Offaly and even Dublin. Personally, I think we'll have to aim for winning
Leinster rather than an All Ireland for the foreseeable future. I also wish Liam
Griffin would stop complaining about the situation and try to be a bit more positive.
In fairness to Liam Griffin I think he has
become disillusioned because the breakthrough he led in 1996 has never been built
on. Change has been slow in coming in the Model county but at least there is a
crucial meeting of the clubs on the 28th of this month to debate how the championships
locally should be overhauled and to put a plan in place up to 2015. Wexford have
just produced two competitive minor teams in a row for the first time in many
years and Colm Bonnar is proving to be a good influence on the senior county panel.
It's not all doom and gloom.
WHY DO THE media always
seem to overlook all the problems in rugby but are quick to harp on the GAA? They
never mention things like melees in club rugby, elitism in schools, eye gouging
and trying to equate the Heineken Cup with an All Ireland! If there's a fracas
at a junior football match it's plastered all over the papers and gets mentioned
by Joe Duffy on 'Liveline'.
- Shawnee
The recent
'bloodgate' scandal has seriously damaged rugby's image and exposed a vacuum of
moral values at the heart of their professional game. The media played a leading
role in exposing that scandal. Critical coverage of the GAA is not the result
of some media conspiracy operated by past pupils of posh rugby schools. Most of
those boyos were creaming it as bankers or lawyers - not journalists - during
the years of the Celtic Tiger!
THE GAA SHOULD fund medical research into
the effect of the frontal shoulder charge. As far as I know, similar tackles in
Rugby are deemed dangerous. The GAA should use research in other physical contact
sports to inform themselves of common dangers. The rules should reflect the findings
of such research. Let's get rid of the cry 'It's a man's game' and protect players,
not pander to the blood lust of spectators. In my opinion, the GAA has an obligation
to get medical direction on all possible injuries that may occur in their games.
The approach to this type of tackle
seems to vary according to the code involved. In Aussie Rules they call it 'the
shirt front' tackle and they allow it. It is also allowed in Rugby League, but
not in Rugby Union. In hurling and Gaelic football it's a foul and gets a yellow
card for the offender. Your overall point about sharing the results of medical
research from other sports is sensible.
I WOULD LIKE to thank 'The Irish
Examiner' for allowing space for people to vent their anger and frustration regarding
the atrocious decisions made by Mr Kirwan in the All Ireland hurling final between
Tipp and Kilkenny. What an injustice to Tipperary players. Maybe some good will
come of it if we get video refereeing where important decisions/calls need to
be made - for example, penalties or not!! - but that will be cold comfort for
Tipp. this year.
Last week we
had Niamh sticking up for the hurlers of Tipperary, this week it's Mary. We just
hope the men of the Premier county appreciate and cherish their feisty women.
'Puckout'
logo here
'Zimmerman' reminds us of the importance
of the various footballing codes pooling their medical research and expertise
for the benefit of players' safety, especially in devising clear, consistent rules
on shoulder tackles. For that sensible suggestion, he wins his choice of a His
or Hers GAA t-shirt from our friends at Puckout.com where you can design your
own leisure wear online.
CONNECT WITH US TODAY
Be the first to know the latest news and updates
